Everyone Please Read This!!!!!

Chance Me / Match Me!
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<p>A lot of people on this forum ask for chances at Ivy League schools. While Ivy League schools were hard to get in from the beginning, but now we all need to remember that it is even harder. Articles in magazines and newspapers are all talking about the "Second Tier" schools- the "safety" schools in which students are now deciding to go to. People who could have gotten into Princeton or Yale are now having a hard time getting into any Ivy League.</p>

<p>Personally, I tried to get in Ivy Leagues- Princeton and Columbia. I got rejected at Princeton and waitlisted at Columbia. I didn't get my hopes up, because I knew that getting in is more of a lottery system. There are many more students applying and a lot of students are now going to their safety schools. I am one- I am headed to Syracuse because of a full ride.</p>

<p>I know it is a dream we all have to see ourselves on the campuses of Princeton, Yale, Harvard or any of the other Ivies, but you have to realize that it is now even harder. My best friend is salutatorian, gets 100 on almost every test and project and is a good tennis player. She applied to Princeton and also was rejected. I thought she was definitely in. Our valedictorian got rejected from Columbia- has like a 102 GPA out of 100. I thought she was definitely in. The only kid who is going to an Ivy League at our school is an amazing nationally ranked track runner- he's going to Princeton.</p>

<p>Keep your dreams alive and go for the big ones, but don't be discouraged if you don't get in. When I found out I was rejected at Duke and Princeton, I wasn't that sad- I didn't go around crying or pouting- I moved on, because I know how hard it really is. Unless you are an amazing sports player AND have great grades, then it is much harder to get in an Ivy League.</p>

<p>Good luck to all of you! Wherever you go will be as awesome as you choose to make it.</p>

<p>Check out the beginning of this New York Times article that I read:
<a href="http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30C17F938550C758DDDAC0894DF404482%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30C17F938550C758DDDAC0894DF404482&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>Do the "Ivy Leagues [sic]" still use the Academic Index (AI) system? If so, then someone with near-perfect scores and grades should still have a decent shot at them.</p>

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<p>Hey darcy, lets not mock someone who was trying to bring us all back to reality.</p>

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<p>I'm not saying that it's IMPOSSIBLE to get in- that people with perfect SAT scores don't get in. I'm just pointing out that it is becoming increasingly difficult even for the greatest achievers. Everyone has a decent shot if they did really well in high school. I'm just saying that if you get rejected, remember how difficult the admissions process has really gotten these days. Tons of people have stated that people who could've gotten into an Ivy League two years ago are now getting waitlisted or rejected and having to go to their safety school. Cases in point- the valedictorian at my school was rejected from Columbia and is going to Boston University and the salutatorian at my school was rejected from Princeton and is going to Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute. Both have above 100 GPAs and are very smart. Our valedictorian got 2300 on the SATs. I'm not just saying this- I just want to make sure that people understand that going for Ivy Leagues is much harder than it ever was and not to be discouraged if they have to settle for a "second tier" school.</p>

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<p>Yup, I've really stopped feeling excited about this whole game a long time ago. Better to be indifferent than later disappointed.</p>

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<p>Musikal, who was the Val from your school?</p>

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<p>My friend made not just one ivy, but EVERY school he applied to, including HYPS and Dartmouth. He didn't get a perfect SAT score and he took a few easy classes along the way. His ECs are good but not anything unusual and he's not a URM.</p>

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<p>Well he's probably a great person.</p>

<p>That said, there are maybe 100-200 of those kids in the entire nation.</p>

<p>The rest of us, need to have other options.</p>

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<p>There's nothing wrong with having other options, but I don't want people to get discouraged and think no normal people get into Ivies.</p>

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<p>You realize that 'normal' tends to mean 'average', the norm. The average SAT score is somewhere around a 500. What you want is 'unexexceptional'. Every year about 10,000 admit letters are sent out for Ivies (this is letters, not individuals and it accounts for overadmitting). Let's say that maybe 7,000 people received those letters. And given that 20,000+ apply to each Ivy. That's 7 out of 100+. Those aren't great odds. And you've got to figure that some perfectly qualified applicants are rejected.</p>

<p>Tufts, Northwestern, Amherst, Williams, etc. Are all great schools. One would be lucky to get into one. They're not Ivies, though. I think the OP wants people to realize that there is life outside of one particular ivy-walled football league.</p>

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<p>That's DEFINITELY true. Stanford bests most Ivies in most subjects. Harvey Mudd is the best undergraduate engineering education. Chicago is the best undergraduate economics education. The Ivies don't compare to MIT in hard science. UNC-Chapel Hill in-state or VCU in-state or Berkeley in-state are far better deals for anyone even remotely cost-conscious.</p>

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<p>You meant UVA. There's a difference between VCU and UVA ;)</p>

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<p>My mistake. I don't know either that well; I haven't looked much into public schools out-of-state except Berkeley.</p>